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Our town is a very nice town

THE online community newspaper for Nailsea people, their family and their friends

March 2021

PROPERTY PEEPS

January homes for sale by Property Peeps page sponsors Hunters Estate Agents and Letting Agents in the High Street HERE. Plus news that district council has decided to go it alone with a Local Plan is also on this page

Property peeps

Nailsea is on the edge of huge housing developments which will bring windfalls to council coffers. But building between houses like this application submitted to North Somerset Council for a pair of semi-detached houses on land between numbers 16-18 Winchcombe Close, has upset the neighbours - read more HERE

What's On

Optimism returns and the community begins to plan for the year ahead. For dates for the bike show and Rotary charity walks/runs plus quick glance diary dates listing click HERE

Gallery

Three new slideshows added to Gallery 2021 including First hopeful signs of spring, The men and the moon plus some super streetscenes from urban photographers. To include your images email nailseapeople@gmail.com. Click HERE to view the photos

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SADLY GOODBYE ARRON: Nailsea will be remembering Arron King on Thursday, March 18, when the funeral cortege will be leaving his home at Portland Close at noon and travelling slowly along Queens Road into Mizzymead Road past Nailsea School and onto Stockway South so people can line up to pay their last respects to the much-loved 19-year-old who died within weeks of being diagnosed with a rare cancer. Monies are being raised for Teenage Cancer Trust and a memorial bench hopefully on Morgans Hill. Read more here https://www.nailseapeople.com/bmd-peeps

Light a candle to remember those we've lost

On March 14, 2020, North Somerset lost its first resident to coronavirus. In the year that has passed since then local communities have lost 334 people to the disease.

On Sunday, March 14, 2021, North Somerset Council is calling on residents across the area to remember everyone who has lost their lives to the disease over the past year, and all those we've lost but not been able to say goodbye to in the usual ways.

North Somerset Council leader Don Davies is the ward councillor for Pill.

He said: "The past year has been hard for everyone, but especially for those of us who have lost someone and not been able to mourn or pay our respects in the usual way.

“We have all lost someone or know someone who has lost someone.

“On Sunday, March 14, let us come together for a moment of quiet reflection and to remember all those who are no longer with us."

Everyone who wants to get involved in this symbolic gesture of remembrance is invited to light a candle in their window at 7pm to the memory of those no longer here, but never far from our thoughts.

Mr Davies added: "This is an opportunity to unite across North Somerset and pay our respects.

“Let us use Sunday, March 14, as an opportunity to remember, to reflect and to come together and to hope for brighter days for all of us in North Somerset."

Continued lockdown restrictions mean there can't be any gatherings organised to remember those we've lost, but residents are asked to share their candle pictures on social media using #NSTogether to create a virtual moment of remembrance.

Go to the Gallery 2021 to see photos.

Recorded cases of coronavirus have continued to fall in North Somerset since last week’s update and we have now dropped below the regional average.

169 new cases have been identified in the latest seven-day period reported for North Somerset compared with 193 the previous week.

Our case rate per 100,000 head of population has continued to decrease and is now 78.6 compared with a South West figure of 70.2, the lowest regional rate in England, and an England rate of 118.3.

There is a lag in case data meaning the latest information is for the week ending Saturday, February 20.

You can see more detail on our local case data here:

www.n-somerset.gov.uk/lomp.

Case data is also available at national, regional, council and neighbourhood level here: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/cases

Remembering Nick

One year ago this month we had just returned from a holiday in Kraków. Our biggest concern was having an empty larder as people were beginning to panic buy. We had tickets for a performance of the Welsh National Opera at the Bristol Hippodrome and wondered whether it was wise to attend. We did, but a bigger drama unfolded off stage when a brave Nailsea woman gave her first thoughts to others and just hours after her husband died decided to warn Nailsea people that the couple had been shopping in the town centre just hours before he became seriously ill. We re-publish our original story here as a timely reminder of how fragile life can be...

Nailsea man Nick Matthews, aged 59, passed away in early hours of Saturday morning, March 14, 2020.

Although he tested positive for coronavirus, he had a pre-existing medical condition.

This is the first confirmed coronavirus related death in North Somerset.

His wife Mary said: “People who may have come into contact with either Nick or me during the past two weeks need to self-isolate and get advice.

“Although he tested positive until a post-mortem examination, we can't say that was cause of death at the moment.

“I don't want to panic people, but I do want people to take extra precautions.”

Mary and Nick had recently returned from a holiday in Fuerteventura.

The Canary Islands on Friday, March 13, had recorded 63 active cases of coronavirus.

Of these 45 are in Tenerife, 13 in Gran Canaria, two in Lanzarote, two in La Palma and one in Fuerteventura.

Nick went into hospital by ambulance on Thursday night suffering from breathing difficulties.

At the BRI he was diagnosed with pneumonia and with his other symptoms it ‘ticked all the boxes’ for the coronavirus and was admitted to the ICU, said Mary.

Nick retired 10 years ago from the police after suffering a massive heart attack.

“He was disabled, he couldn’t work,” said Mary.

“But at no point did I realise how serious it was, even when we all had to gown up in the hospital, I just thought it was over precaution – as far as we were concerned we hadn’t been in contact with anyone with coronavirus and no-one in this area had contacted the disease.”

Mary, aged 55, posted earlier on her Facebook page: “Today at 3am I lost my life partner and soul mate but most of all my best friend.

“Together with our children Charlotte, Ben we are beyond proud to have had such a big character in our lives.

“As a family we are currently in isolation…I know some of you would like to visit, but please for you and your family’s safety, stay away until we get the all clear.”

She told Nailsea People this was a time when you wanted to be comforted by family and friends but because of being in self-isolation with son Ben while her daughter is in Weston it wasn’t possible.

Mary said: “It is a time when you want a hug but can’t have one.”

Nick a former police officer stationed with Clevedon CID and the Weston-super-Mare child protection unit had several commendations for his work.

“It was a job he loved,” said Mary.

He was also manager of The Glasshouse pub football team for years and years.

As chairman of Kingshill Friends Association Nick helped raised lots of money for the Pound Lane school and inspired its winning Star Wars carnival float.

As of Sunday, March 15, 10 more people in the UK have died in the past 24 hours after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 21.

The UK government's chief medical adviser said the patients were all in ‘at-risk’ groups from across England.

The total number of confirmed cases in the UK has reached 1,140 while 37,746 people have been tested.

Nailsea People Facebook page announcing Nick’s death has reached more than 130,000 with nearly 500 messages of condolence since Saturday night.

Many praised Mary for thinking of others at this terrible time, a sentiment we share.

Carol Deacon

REFLECTION DAY: Since the first lockdown began in March 2020, many people have died in Nailsea. Too many lives have been cut short and many have been bereaved. Behind the statistics and whatever the cause, every death has been devastating for the people left behind. On Tuesday, March 23, the first anniversary of the first UK lockdown, there will be a National Day of Reflection to reflect on our collective loss, this is initiated by Marie Curie. To mark this occasion of the loss of loved ones and the first year anniversary of Lockdown, there will be an opportunity for people to come and lay a daffodil at the west door of Christ Church, Christ Church Close, Nailsea. Priest Jules Harris said: "Some of you may wish us to remember your loved one by naming them at noon before the one minute silence. If you wish us to do this email church.office@christchurchnailsea.org.uk or call on 01275 859210."

www.thetekhut.uk

computer techies for the online community

The TEK Hut was started by Ben Parker in the summer of 2018.

For 12 years Ben had been one of the team at The ICT Workshop which provided a wide variety of computer services to Nailsea, Clevedon, Yatton, Backwell and even Weston-Super-Mare.

Ben felt it right to continue the same great service customers had previously experienced but under new branding for a new business and The Tek Hut was born.

Trading at the familiar location in Nailsea, The Tek Hut will continue to offer the same cost effective, new laptops and PCs, upgrades, onsite support for homes and businesses through to a wide range of workshop services and accessories.